A Devon family suffered through a sleepless night after contractors started making noise at the Plymouth incinerator at 4am.

Michelle Baker, her 12-year-old daughter, her fiance Simon Martin, and his five-year-old son were all rudely awoken at Michelle's home in Savage Road, in Barne Barton, at around 3.30am on September 16.

Contractors were carrying out overnight work to on one of the incinerator's chimneys, but had mistakenly started making noise, the company behind the MVV Environmental Services Ltd has stated, the Plymouth Herald reports.

"I heard a banging sound, like metal on metal," Simon said.

"I went into the front room to see what was going on and then my son got up and was asking what was going on. It went on until 5.30am.

"We were never told this was going to happen. It's understandable during the day, but not at 4am in the morning."

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Simon added: "Shelly had been planning to take the kids around the shops to look for dresses and other wedding stuff. But my boy's only five and they were just too tired. They didn't do half the things thy wanted to do in the end."

A spokesperson for MVV said: “MVV are currently carrying out some planned major maintenance work on the Devonport Energy from Waste CHP Facility. This is something we do every year.

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"On 16 September one of our contractors was carrying out some work on the chimney which required 24 hour working. During the night they mistakenly made some noise for which we apologise. Measures have been implemented to ensure all work done at night is done in a quiet manner and noisy operations are avoided.

"For the past year our facility has run very well. Jane Ford, our Community Liaison Manager, is in touch with all residents and deals proactively with any complaints.”